The present invention relates to a door of an automotive vehicle and, more particularly, to a vehicle door of the type having an upper portion of a reveal thereof extended toward a side edge of a roof.
In some modern automotive vehicles, particularly those having relatively low heights, an edge of the roof which faces the upper edge of a door is recessed while the upper edge of the reveal of the door is extended toward the roof, the extension of the reveal functioning as a roof side portion. Such a roof and door configuration allows the motor vehicle to be furnished with a wide opening for a door which promotes the ease of one's movement into and out of the vehicle.
In an automotive vehicle with a door of the type described, it has been customary to construct the door such that the upper surface of the upper extension of the reveal conincides with the general plane of the roof. Usually, the general plane of a roof of an automotive vehicle has a curvature which is progressively lowered toward the sides of the vehicle. A gap is defined between the edge of the upper door extension and the side edge of the roof to serve as a trough for draining water which flows down along the roof, as disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,596,980 to Jean G. Cadiou. In such a vehicle configuration, a difference in level is visible between the roof and the door when the vehicle is seen from the side, causing the door to appear ill-fitting. Furthermore, while the vehicle is operated in the heavy rain, for example, the water flowing down along the roof toward a side tends to jump across the gap between the roof and the door upper edge to directly reach the door, which is on the extension of the curvature of the roof, the gap failing to sufficiently function as a trough.
Meanwhile, a vehicle door is generally assembled by hemming edge portions of a door inner panel and a door outer panel. In a door with the extended upper edge, therefore, a thin hemming flange is formed in the extension which protrudes from the door surface when the door is opened. Such a projection is apt to contact other objects and, moreover, coating tends to come off at the end of the thin flange to cause corrosion to start there.